WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The top seeded Jennies enter the MIAA tournament on a six game winning streak. They draw eighth seeded Fort Hays State Thursday in their opening game of the tournament beginning at 5 p.m. They'll then go on to face the winner of #4 Missouri Western vs. #5 Northwest Missouri later that night at 7 p.m.

Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Tigers
Susan Anderson is 14-11 all-time against Fort Hays State. The Jennies went 2-0 vs the Tigers in 2015, outscoring them 18-1.

Anderson vs. the Griffons
Head Coach Susan Anderson is 13-11 against Missouri Western. The Jennies swept the then #14 ranked Griffons back on April 7th. 

Anderson vs. the Bearcats
In her first eight seasons, coach Anderson has gone 15-9 against Northwest Missouri and
7-3 in the last five years. The two teams split back on April 17.

UCM in the Polls
The Jennies cracked the National Fast Pitch Coaches Poll for the first time this week. After receiving votes for three straight weeks, UCM jumped into the polls at No. 23. 

UCM also remained at No. 3 in the Central Region poll. The top two team's will both host the opening round regional matchups. 

Deja Vu
For the second straight season, UCM is opposed by Fort Hays State in the opening round of the MIAA tournament. The Jennies are hopeing for a better outcome after the Tigers used a seventh inning rally to come-from-behind and steal a 6-5 win.

200 Hits/40 Home Run Club
Senior Jakki Prater slugged a two-run home run for her 200th career hit in game two of the Jennies doubleheader at Northeastern State. Prater becomes the fourth member of the 200 hit club and third in as many years. Prater also stands at 39 career home runs. She became the all-time home run leader last season and with one home run will be the first Jennie to ever collect 200 hits and 40 home runs. 

With her three hit afternoon in game two on Saturday, Prater moved into a tie for second on the all-time hit list with 211. Beth Savage set the career hits record at 222 in 1995. 

Shockley's Winning Streak
Senior Katie Shockley's has continued her personal winning streak and now has wins in 14 straight starts. During that stretch, she's gone 14-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 93 innings and 13 complete games. Shockley matches Megan Leonhard (2009) for the longest winning streak in team history.

Mabe's Quest for .400
Sophomore Lauren Mabe is attempting to do what only six others have done in UCM history. Mabe leads the Jennies with a .437 batting average, which if she maintains will be the second-best single-season average in team history. Only six times has a Jennie batted at least .400, with the last coming from Courtney Opich in 2010. The single-season record for batting average is .457, set by Rachel Adams in 2007.  Mabe leads the MIAA and is 45 in the nation.

Jennies Running Wild
The Jennies set a new single season record this weekend when they stole their 100th base of the season against Lindenwood. UCM broke the previous record of 97 set in 1995. 

Junior Ali Jo Rogers leads the stolen base barrage. She set a new single-season stolen base record two weeks ago against Central Oklahoma and has her eyes set on the career record. Rogers swiped six bags over the weekend giving her 38 for the season and 79 for her career. She now stands just two stolen bases behind Heather Whitcomb's team record of 81 set in 2007.  In addition to Rogers, Makayla Schoonover (18) and Carlie Rose (14) both have double-digit steals. Schoonover is a perfect 18-for-18 on attempts this season, which if it stands would be the third most steals without being caught in team history.

Late Inning Heroics
Trailing 1-0 in the sixth inning of game one on Saturday, Alex Leonhart launched her third home run of the season to give the Jennies their first lead 2-1, the eventual final score. It marked the ninth win this season for the Jens when they were trailing after five innings. UCM has gone 9-9 in games in which they were trailing after five . By comparison, in no seasons since 2003 have they ever won more than five of such games. 

Jennies at Home
The Jennies are a 14-2 at home this season. For her career, Coach Anderson is 91-35 (.722) in home games.

Jennies on the Road
The Jennies are a 13-4 in true road games this season. For her career, coach Anderson is 83-74 (.529) away from Warrensburg.

Jennies in the Postseason
With their wins on Saturday, the Jennies clinched their eighth regular-season MIAA championships in their history and first since 2009. That year was the last UCM made the NCAA tournament and have gone 15-21 in 36 NCAA games over 10 appearances.

Scouting the Opposition
Fort Hays State
Series History: UCM swept the Tigers this season with wins of 9-1 and 9-0. All-time UCM holds a slight 15-13 edge.The Jens and Tigers met in the opening game of the MIAA tournament last season, with Fort Hays coming-from-behind to win 6-5.

Scouting Report: Fort Hays assured themselves a birth in the MIAA tournament with a sweet of Nebraska-Kearney in their final conference games of the season. They enter with a 26-25 record and 14-12 in the MIAA. 

Tori Beltz has been the Tigers best player at the plate. She has a team-best 10 home runs and 42 RBI with a .323 average and .434 on base percentage. Beltz has a great eye at the plate and leads the conference with 29 walks. Another player to watch is Kylie Strand who as 18 extra-base hits, 11 doubles and seven home runs.

In the circle, Kelsey Kimminau and Paxton Duran lead the staff. Kimminau has a team best 13 wins and 3.00 ERA while Duran isn't far behind at 11 and 3.21, respectively. Duran has gobbled up more strikeouts, shes third in the MIAA with 142.

Missouri Western
Series History: The Jennies have won 54 of 82 meetings with the Griffons. In one of the longest rivalries in UCM softball history, the two teams first met in 1976. The two teams have been remarkably consistant of late as the Jennies hold a slight edge over the last 24 meetings 13-11, since 2007, Coach Anderson's first year with the Jens. UCM swept the then-14th ranked Griffons in St. Joseph earlier this year.

Scouting Report: The Griffons finished fourth in the MIAA with a 33-17 record and 17-9 in the conference. They were ranked in the top 15 by the NFCA, but have lost three of their last four MIAA matchups.

Missouri Western has a prolific offense with four starters in the top-15 of the MIAA in batting average. Tiffany Gillaspy leads the team at .376 and is second in the conference with 14 home runs. Her 118 total bases are an MIAA-best while her 62 hits and 46 RBI lead the team.

MWSU also has a pair of 15+ game winners in the circle. Shyanne Saladino has a team-best 17 with a 2.73 ERA. Janie Smith is right behind with a 16-9 record and 2.67 ERA. She also leads the team with 111 strikeouts.

Northwest Missouri
Series History: The Jennies have faced Northwest more than any other opponent in the MIAA with the Bearcats holding a 60-53 edge. UCM has had recent success against NWMSU, winning eight of their last ten. This year the two clubs split a DH in Maryville. Since leaving Maryville for Warrensburg, Coach Anderson is 14-8 against her former club.

Scouting Report: Northwest enters the MIAA Championship as the No. 5 seed after a 24-22 (16-10 MIAA) season. They finished the season strong, winning seven of their final 10 games. 

The Bearcats are led by Stephanie Mark and her 24 extra base hits. She leads the conference with a .745 slugging percentage and has connected for a team-best 13 home runs. 

NWMSU has been both helped and hurt by the long ball this season. They've hit 42 as a team but have also surrendered that amount to opponents. Kendle Schieber has been their best pitcher this season with a 10-6 record and 2.28 ERA. She's also struck out 107 batters in 110.2 innings pitched. 

Last Time Out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. - For the first time since 2009 and the eighth time overall, Central Missouri softball has won the MIAA regular season championship.
UCM swept Lindenwood (17-35, 6-20) 2-1, 7-2 Saturday afternoon to improve to 39-13 on the season and 21-5 in the MIAA. Both totals are the most under Head Coach Susan Anderson. The 39 regular season wins are the most since 1995 when the Jennies won 49 games and the 20 MIAA wins are a program-best.
The Jennies also celebrated senior day, with an on-field ceremony to recognize senior athletes Amanda Nally, Jakki Prater, Katie Shockley, and Jessica Wilkes along with graduate assistant coach Kelli Kurka.
Game One - UCM 2, LWU 1
The first game was a classic pitchers dual. With rain falling on and off, Shockley and Lady Lions starter Kendall Ryndak traded zeroes through the first four innings.
Lindenwood got on the board first in the fifth inning on Madison Huot's two-out double.
The Jennies broke through on one swing of the bat from Alex Leonhart in the sixth. Prater led off the inning with an infield single to second and was nearly doubled-up on Lauren Mabe's hard line out to third. Prater beating the throw back to first prove to be the difference as a batter later, Leonhart crushed a 3-1 pitch deep over the right center field wall. The home run was her third of the season and was all the support Shockley needed.
Lindenwood put the tying run on with a two-out single, but Shockley got a fly ball to end the game, 2-1.
For Shockley it was her 14th consecutive start earning a victory and season-high 18th win overall. She pitched all seven innings allowing just the one earned run on five hits while striking out two and walking two.
The Jennies were held to just five hits but made them count. Mabe was the only Jennie to finish with two hits. Leonhart had the biggest hit of all and finished 1-for-2 with a home run and the only two RBIs. Ali Jo Rogers went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases.
Game Two - UCM 7, LWU 2
Game two was a much different story. UCM quickly scored putting a run on the board in the first two innings. Prater drove home Rogers with the game's first run and Carlie Rose scored on a fielder's choice in the second, putting the Jens up 2-0.
The Lady Lions cut the lead in half in the third with an RBI single from Madeline Bohr.
That's as close as Lindenwood got though as the Jennies put up five runs in the fifth to put the game away. Prater, Rose and Lindsey Dawson picked up RBI in the innings and the Jennies took advantage of three Lindenwood errors in the inning.
Lindenwood added a run in the seventh on a solo home run to complete the scoring.
Prater picked up the win in the circle. She pitched the first five innings and allowed one run on three hits with two strike outs. Jessica Wilkes came in and pitched the final two innings allowed one run on three hits.
Prater was also a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. She scored a run and drove in two. Makayla Schoonover was the only other Jennies with multiple hits. She finished 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored. Rogers scored a game-high two runs and was 1-for-4 at the dish. She stole another base to give her three on the afternoon and 38 for the season.
The wins give the Jennies the No. 1 seed in next weekends MIAA Championship Tournament. They're opponent is still to be determined, but they'll play their first games Thursday, April 30 at 6 and 8 p.m. The Championship Tournament is held at the Blue Valley Recreation Complex in Overland Park, Kan.